Sage suffers data breach after suspected insider attack

Accounting and payroll software provider Sage has been hit by a data breach that may have left the personal information of employees at 280 UK businesses exposed.

According to reports, it is unclear at this point whether the information was stolen or just looked at and the breach appears to be the result of an insider attack after an "internal login" was used to access "unauthorised" customer information.

Police are currently investigating the breach and it has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the agency responsible for enforcing the 1998 Data Protection Act. Sage has also advised its affected customers to keep an eye out for any unusual activity.

A Sage spokesperson said: "We are investigating unauthorised access to customer information using an internal login. We cannot comment further whilst we work with the authorities to investigate - but our customers remain our first priority and we are speaking directly with those affected."